Railing holding device



Jan. 4, 1966 J. w. THEISEN RAILING HOLDING DEVICE Filed May 28, 1964 A mF IN VENTOR. JH/v 1 1/5545 r 7Z/E/SEA/ A r TOP/YE y United States Patent3,227,477 RAILING HOLDING DEVICE John Wesley Theisen, 3437 Tulane Ave.,

Long Beach, Calif. Filed May 28, 1964, Ser. No. 370,853 1 Claim. (Cl.287-56) The present invention relates generally to the field of buildingconstruction, and more particularly to a device for removably supportinga railing at any desired position from a tubular metallic upright.

In the construction of railings in the past, it has been the generalpractice to permanently attach the railing to a sequence of rigiduprights. When such a supported railing has to be replaced, or removedto be refininshed, it has posed a troublesome problem, which in manyinstances requires a substantial dismantling of the railing structure.

A major object of the present invention is to provide a device that isadapted to support a railing at any desired position relative to atubular metallic upright, and one that permits quick and easy removal ofthe supported railing from the upright in the event the railing has tobe replaced or refinished.

Another object of the inventionis to supply a device that permits thequick and easy mounting of a railing in a desired position on a tubularmetallic upright that can be fabricated from standard, commerciallyavailable materials, requires no elaborate plant facilities for theproduction thereof, and is relatively inexpensive whereby it can be soldat a sufiiciently low price as to encourage its widespread use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for supporting arailing, irrespective of whether the railing is fabricated from solidmaterial such as wood or tubular metallic stock.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description thereof, and from theaccompanying drawing illustrating that form, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a railing having both ahorizontal and an angularly disposed section which are removablysupported by the subject of the present application from two spaced,vertically extending uprights;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the upper portion of oneof the uprights, with a stud in a position to be moved through a boretherein, and permanently affixed to the interior surface of the upright;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the railing supportmounted on a tubular metallic upright shown supporting a rail on theouter extremity thereof; and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the device and railingsupported thereon, taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

With continuing reference to the drawing for the general arrangement ofthe invention, it will be seen that a railing A is provided that has ahorizontal section and an angularly positioned section 12, each of whichis supported from a tubular metallic upright B. The open upper end ofeach upright B is closed by a cap C, as may best be seen in FIGURES 2and 3. Each upright also has a transverse bore 14 formed in one wallsection thereof disposed at an elevation somewhat less than that atwhich the railing A is to be supported.

A number of fettered thread weld studs 16 are provided, the transversecross section of which is substantially less than that of the bores 14,with each stud being adapted to be held in a movable portion 18 of aspot welder 20, and when so held, advanced through one of the bores 14to place an end 22 of the stud in abutting contact with a section 24 ofthe interior surface of the tubular upright B that is in alignment witha bore. When the end 22 of the stud engages the section 24, it isimmediately welded thereto. The movable portion 18 of the spot welder issheathed in an electrical insulating material 26 to prevent inadvertentcontact between the movable portion and the upright B as the movableportion is moved through the bore 14.

After being welded to the upright B, the stud .16 occupies the positionshown in FIGURE 3, where it is in coaxial alignment with the center ofthe bore 14. An elongate rigid member D is provided that is of suchtransverse cross section as to be slidably insertable through the bore14. An end portion 26 of the member D has a longitudinally extendingdrilled recess 28 formed therein that engages the threaded stud 16 toremovably aflix the rigid member D to the upright B.

The member D has a longitudinally extending recess 30 formed in theouter end portion thereof, as can best be seen in FIGURE 3. A tappedtransversely positioned bore 32 is formed in the member D and is incommunication with the recess 30. A railing supporting member E isprovided for each of the uprights B, and-each of the railing supportingmembers as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, includes a web 34 that has firstand second legs 36 and 38 respectively, depending from the longitudinaledges thereof. The first leg 36 has a bore 40 formed therein of suchsize as to be slidably movable on the exterior surface of the rigidmember D (FIGURE 3). The second leg 38 has a second bore 42 formedtherein that is slightly smaller in diameter than the bore 40, and thesebores are in coaxial alignment.

When one of the railing supporting members E is mounted on one of themembers D as shown in FIGURE 3, the portion of the second leg 38adjacent the second bore 42 is in abutting contact with the outerextremity of the rigid member D. Each of the webs 34 has at least oneopening 44 formed therein through which a screw 46 extends upwardly toengage a tapped bore 48 formed in the railing A.

A number of metallic inserts F are provided each of which is mountablein one of the recesses 30 of one of the members D. Each insert Fincludes a head 50 that has a shank 52 extending outwardly therefrom.The shank 52 is of such transverse cross section that it is snugly butslidably received within the confines of one of the recesses 30. Eachshank 46 has an indentation formed therein that is defined by acircumferentially extending groove 54 formed in the shank.

The sequence of using the invention is as follows. The railingsupporting members E are mounted on the members D, with the inserts Fthen disposed in the recesses 30. The inserts F are locked in place inmembers E by the use of set screws 50, as shown in FIGURE 3. The railingA is then placed on the supporting members E and attached thereto byscrews 46, as best seen in FIG- URES 3 and 4.

From the above description, it will be seen that the railing supportingmembers E are held at fixed longitudinal poistions on the rigid membersE, but may pivot relative thereto, and thus can engage and supporteither a horizontal section 10 of the railing A or an angularlypositioned section 12 of the railing, as shown in FIGURE 1. When it isdesired to remove the railing from the uprights B, each set screw 50 ismerely rotated in a direction to cause it to move outwardly relative tothe inserts F, and the railing A, together with the railing supportingmembers B then are removable from the members D to permit portions ofthe railing A to be replaced or refinished.

The use and operation of the invention have been described in detail,and need not be repeated.

Although the present invention is fully capable of achieving the objectsand providing the advantages hereinbefore mentioned, it is to beunderstood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferredembodiment thereof and I do not mean to be limited to the details ofconstruction herein shown and described, other than as defined in theappended claim.

I claim:

A device for holding a railing in any desired position relative to thehorizontal from a tubular, upwardly extending metallic support having atransverse bore formed therein, which device includes:

(a) a stud afiixed to the interior surface of said upright in coaxialalignment with said bore;

(b) an elongate rigid member that extends through said bore into theinterior of said upright, which member has a longitudinally extendingrecess in at least the outer portion thereof and a tapped transversebore formed therein that communicates with said recess;

(c) means on that portion of said member in said upright for afiixingsaid member to said stud;

(d) a railing supporting member which includes a web having first andsecond laterally spaced legs depending therefrom, with said first leghaving a bore formed therein that slidably engages the exterior surfaceof said member, and with said second leg having a second bore formedtherein of smaller diameter than said first bore and in coaxialalignment with said first and second bores;

(e) an insert including a head and a shank, with said shank being ofsuch diameter as to fit snugly and slidably in said recess and thesecond bore, which shank has an indentation formed therein that is inalignment with said tapped bore when said head is in abutting contactwith an outer surface of said second leg;

(f) means for atfixing said railing to said web; and

(g) a set screw threaded in said tapped bore, which screw extends intosaid recess to engage said indentation to hold said railing, railingsupporting member, and insert in a fixed longitudinal position on saidrigid member, but with said railing and railing support being pivotallyremovable to a desired position relative to said rigid member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,420,671 6/ 1922Schuette. 1,867,226 7/1932 Martin. 2,691,538 10/1954 Clausen 859 X2,815,972 12/1957 Lagervall. 3,207,479 9/1965 Talmage et a1.

CARL W. TOMLIN, Primary Examiner.

T. A. LISLE, Assistant Examiner.

